COLUMBUS – Ever wished someone would do something about those telemarketers and annoying robo-calls, or wondered whether anyone is policing the Do Not Call Registry?
Someone is.
The office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine says it has filed suit against a man it claims made 1.6 million robo-calls over a five-month period to promote his cleaning business.
Court papers filed in Hamilton County claim Kevin Calvin used 60 different originating telephone numbers to counteract consumers’ efforts to block the calls. Calls were made in the name of Rocket Marketing, Network Solutions, and Made in America Cleaning and Restoration before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. to consumers who were listed on the National Do Not Call Registry, violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act, the Telephone Solicitation Sales Act, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
The lawsuit asks for a court order finding the defendant’s actions in violation of the law, an injunction to stop further violations and unspecified civil penalties.
It also asks for the court to award $500 apiece to each individual who received one of the calls.
Calvin allegedly operated from an office on Ohio Pike in Cincinnati, placing calls that used artificial or prerecorded voices telling consumers to press “1” to be connected to a representative or to call a certain number to schedule services. When consumers responded, DeWine’s office says they often were disconnected, unable to reach a live representative or their requests to opt out were ignored.
State and federal regulations limit unsolicited prerecorded telemarketing calls to landline home telephones and autodialed or prerecorded calls or text messages to wireless numbers. Sellers are prohibited from soliciting consumers using robocalls without first obtaining the consumer’s prior written consent, without identifying the caller, and without providing an automated opt-out mechanism, DeWine said.